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White mold is a fungal disease caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum that infects various broadleaf plants and is spread by infected weeds, soil, wind, and water. It has an overwintering structure called a sclerotium and feeds on dead tissue, causing water-soaked spots, white cottony layers, and dry lesions. Control methods include introducing fungal pests, fungicides, crop rotation, and sanitation practices.
White mold, or sclerotinia, is a plant disease caused by a fungal infection. The fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is the most common culprit, but some other Sclerotinia species also infect plants. This disease is sometimes called stem rot, stem rot, wilt, or head rot. The fungus is most common in temperate climates, although it can grow in a wide variety of ecological environments. Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is one of the most successful plant pathogens affecting some of our most important food crops.
About 408 different species of broadleaf plants, including soybeans, sunflowers, peanuts, lentils, chickpeas, and canola, can be infected with white mold. Many weeds, including thistle and wild mustard, are vectors of the disease. Sclerotinia can be introduced into a healthy crop in a number of ways. In addition to being spread by infected weeds and other plants, it can spread to adjacent crops through soil, wind, and irrigation or rainwater.
Sclerotinia sclerotiorum has an overwintering structure called a sclerotium, which consists of a protective black rind covering a clear pith. Sclerotia remain in the soil over winter and germinate in spring through one of two methods. It can form tiny fungi that release spores into the air to infect plants, or it can form a mycelium, the vegetative portion of a fungus, that directly affects the roots of nearby plants.
This fungus is a necrotrophic organism, which means it feeds on dead or decaying tissue. When it infects plants, it kills plant tissue before the mycelium starts growing on the plant. A common symptom of an infection is water-soaked spots on the plant, which eventually become covered in a white cottony layer and become soft and slimy.
Some infected plants, on the other hand, develop dry lesions around the base which cause the plant to die. The leaves of the plant also dry up, turning yellow, then brown, before dying. Plants with white mold typically wilt and collapse or drop leaves, spreading more fungi into the soil and causing nearby plants to become infected.
White mold is very difficult to control. It is not known how long Sclerotinia sclerotiorum can remain active in a field, but soil moisture and warmth both contribute to its growth. Some methods of controlling the spread of mold include introducing fungal pests into the soil, using fungicides, crop rotation, and sanitation practices.
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